Summit will address employment for disabled

The Arc of Cumberland & Perry Counties (CPARC) will host a disability Business-to-Business Summit on Aug. 14 at the S. Wilson Pollock Center for Industrial Training in Mechanicsburg.

The summit will address how employers can have an inclusive workforce that includes disabled individuals. The free event will include tours of the vocational-training facility.

“With unemployment levels low, employers are taking notice that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities make great employees,” Anne Couldridge, CPARC executive director, said. “While this idea is nothing new to the staff and those we serve at CPARC, we welcome discussions with employers that are interested in taking an active role to engage this valuable, if untapped, labor market.”

In 2016, Gov. Tom Wolf signed an executive order making employment easier for the disabled.

The order establishes the Employment First policy that uses publicly-funded education, training, employment and related services, as well as long-term support and service, for working-age Pennsylvanians with a disability.

The Office of Administration will find ways to reduce barriers to employment for the disabled.

Workforce participation for the disabled is approximately 20 percent compared to approximately 70 percent for the rest of the population, according to the statehouse.

The disabled make up 35.7 percent of the Pennsylvania workforce, according to Fortune.